


Christmas Prayer

by uniquepov



Series: Dyno_Drabbles LDWS Series (2010) [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-28
Updated: 2010-11-28
Packaged: 2017-11-05 03:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/402171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uniquepov/pseuds/uniquepov
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I participated in the LDWS over at <span class="ljuser ljuser-name_dyno_drabbles"><a href="http://dyno-drabbles.livejournal.com/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://dyno-drabbles.livejournal.com/"><b>dyno_drabbles</b></a></span>. I didn't win, but I made it to the final TWO, and considering this was my first-ever LDWS contest, I'm pretty darn proud of that.</p><p><b> Round 8: Finals<br/>
Word Count:</b> Drabbles must be between 100-500 words.<br/><b>Ship:</b>  Severus Snape/any canon character of your choosing.<br/><b>Prompt:</b> Severus Snape gives an anonymous Christmas gift - but to who?  The recipient and the gift are up to you!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Prayer

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. However, I promise to return everyone, good as new, when I'm done playing with them. I own nothing that you recognize, and I do not profit from any of it.
> 
> [ ](http://pics.livejournal.com/uniquepov/pic/000130c9/)

Severus sat before the roaring fire, moodily nursing a glass of Ogden’s Finest. A framed photo sat on the table at his elbow, the glass reflecting the firelight in dancing flashes. He stared at it, with an unreadable expression in his obsidian eyes and the barest flicker of emotion playing across his features.

Lily -his first friend, his first love- was dead and cold; nothing he could do would change that. Had he understood the consequences of his actions, he would have never revealed the prophecy to the Dark Lord. Even now, with full knowledge of the outcome, he would trade places with her in a heartbeat, if it meant she would live on.

So he had gone to Dumbledore, full of remorse and nearly suicidal. The old man had looked at him with those damnable _twinkling_ blue eyes and asked him what he intended to do to make amends. The immediate answer was to turn spy, align himself with the Light and Dumbledore’s Order; he had made those oaths without hesitation.

He had spent the weeks since Lily’s death alone with his thoughts, when another answer had presented itself. One could not make the Unbreakable Vow to a photograph, though; nor to a portrait, even if one existed, which left Severus with only one option.

_He watched the house from the shadows; watched Lily’s son be ignored and neglected, as her sister placed gaily wrapped packages underneath a Christmas tree. Not one had the boy’s name on it._

_Once the household was asleep, Severus let himself into the house through the back garden, moving silently and purposefully to the cupboard under the stairs. Opening the door, he gasped as the toddler -alert and sitting up in a makeshift cot- stared suspiciously at him with_ her _eyes. He had to force himself not to take a step backward, passing a hand over his face briefly as he processed the memories that assailed him like physical blows. The last time he’d seen Lily, she’d looked at him in_ exactly _the same way; distrust and suspicion and wariness swirling in her normally unguarded gaze._

_Composing himself, Severus knelt by the cot and held his hand out to the child. After several moments of staring, young Harry had grasped his fingers in his small fist, looking up at him with those eyes once again._

_“Harry James Potter, I swear to protect you, with my life, my magic and my death, against any who seek to do you harm. In memory of your mother, I so swear.” Magic twisted around them and sank slowly into their joined hands._

_Severus nodded to the boy before slipping away as silently as he had arrived._

Now, before the fire, he watched a teenaged Lily twirl around a garden. She stopped, waving at the camera and winking, before twirling wildly again.

 _Happy Christmas, Lily._ He sent the thought into the Universe like the prayer it was, knowing Lily would never hear it. _My last gift to you._

**Author's Note:**

>  **Special Thanks:** To [](http://solas-divided.livejournal.com/profile)[**solas_divided**](http://solas-divided.livejournal.com/) for her beta work throughout this challenge and for being one of my biggest cheerleaders. *squishes* Also, extra-special *squishes* to [](http://rivertempest.livejournal.com/profile)[**rivertempest**](http://rivertempest.livejournal.com/) , for being an awesome friend and always pushing me to be better. =)


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